Results from an opinion survey on “Racial Attitudes and the
Presidential Nomination,” conducted by Professor Fredrick Harris, who
directs Columbia's Center on African American Politics and Society,
show that African-American votes are up for grabs for both leading
candidates of the Democratic Party and the skin color of the candidate
will not automatically translate into African-American votes.
“The
study reveals the enormous value black voters place on diversity in
evaluating the effectiveness of the presidential nomination process,”
says Harris. “Like most voters, blacks value the process
producing a candidate that can win the general election, but they place
far greater emphasis on the process giving minorities a voice, and
producing an ideologically and regionally diverse ticket.
Clearly, black voters are both pragmatic and idealistic, balancing
candidates’ electability with candidates’ commitment to racial,
regional and ideological diversity.”
For a link to the published results and to the Center on African American Politics and Society, click here.
